Hourglass
by Touchstone
Summary: Slight AU. OE pairing. After being violently attacked, Olivia and Elliot's past resurfaces, and with it all the memories built on two years of a forbidden love. COMPLETE!
1. The Final Thread

Quick Summary: This fic does a lot of jumping around chronologically. It is set at present time, but then goes back two years and will stay there for a while. Sorry if it gets confusing, but I tried to make the transitions clear!

A/N: Hello again everyone! This is a different storyline than my other two fics, and thus not a sequel (though one could be in the making ;) The episode "Quarry" got me going on this one, the ending with Liv and El was adorable!! Yes it is a slight alternate universe.

I got the title of this from the song Breathe (2 am). The following passage I thought was endlessly appropriate for the basis of this story…

Disclaimer: I _still _don't own them… and I don't own the song either.

**_Ya we walk through _****_the doors_****_ so accusing their eyes _**

_**Like they have any right at all to criticize **_

_**Hypocrites you're all here for the very same reason. **_

_**Cause you can't jump the track **_

**_We're like cars on a cable and life's like an hourglass glued to the table…_**

It was a dark summer night. The moon was almost completely obscured by dark clouds that promised rain and the balmy air was beginning to become cool. Olivia Benson rounded the corner of the street, followed closely by her partner, Elliot Stabler. She paused while he jogged to close to distance between them. Elliot protectively stepped in front of her as they looked at the filthy windows of the old warehouse.

"Well, we can't do much until our backup gets here." said Elliot, leaning up against a streetlamp while keeping a sharp eye on the building. Olivia nodded, though she seemed to be in deep thought. Elliot's face instantly became concerned. "What's wrong Liv? You haven't acted right all day."

"It's nothing Elliot." Olivia answered quickly, waving her hand dismissively. She ran a hand through her short auburn hair and sighed.

"No it's not." Elliot responded, stubbornly folding his arms.

Olivia stepped a little closer to him, taking comfort in his close proximity. "You know that meeting I had this morning?"

"Yes, what about it?" questioned Elliot, watching her closely.

When she looked up, her eyes were unusually bright, and Elliot knew she was close to tears. "It was with the disciplinary committee. They are going to take my badge."

"What?" exclaimed Elliot, taking his young partner by the arms.

"They found out. It was Kerrington, I know it. He has hated me since he taught me at the academy." Olivia said, looking up into her partners blue eyes.

Elliot looked stunned for a brief moment then slowly said, "I can't believe this." Olivia dropped her head again, unable to continue looking him in the eyes. Elliot put his hand underneath her jaw, gently lifting it. "Look at me Liv. We are going to get through this."

Olivia smiled at her partner. "I know."

He smiled back and then said slowly, "You would tell me… if you were hurting."

"Of course. But really, I am feeling fine now." Olivia replied.

Elliot nodded, and then looked down at her stomach. Instinctively he reached out and placed his hand on it. "But you didn't before."

"Elliot, what happened was a freak accident. It was not your fault."

"Right. I pulled you off desk duty because I had no one else to go with. I couldn't wait another day for Munch or Fin to be available. But it wasn't my fault." Elliot answered bitterly.

Olivia looked up at him and said sternly, "No, it wasn't. You didn't throw me down the stairs, Elliot."

"Well no. But I wasn't fast enough to stop him."

Olivia was about to respond when a loud scream pierced the still air. She whipped back around to face the building. She and Elliot looked at one another with wide eyes. "He's got another victim." They didn't have to say another word as they both took off in the direction of the door, all thought of back up forgotten.

Elliot kicked it open, scanning the room briefly. Olivia stepped inside first, her gun raised. The warehouse was now deathly quiet. They made their way carefully over the heaps of junk and metal lying all over the floor. The air was damp and chilly inside, condensation dripping from pipes and ringing loudly. Olivia made her way around a particularly large pile and then screamed, "Elliot!"

Olivia knelt over the victim, removing her jacket and laying it gently over top of her. "Sweetheart, we are going to get you help, alright?" The girl nodded, tears streaking down her face. Olivia lay a hand on the girl's sweaty brow as she glanced down. Her lower half was soaked with blood, several stab wounds on her thighs, abdomen, and some, Olivia knew, in an area she couldn't see. Suddenly the girl seized her wrist. "What's wrong?" Olivia questioned, noticing the wild fear in her eyes. The girl screamed. Olivia turned around and saw Elliot standing only a few feet from her. But he didn't see the man coming up behind him. "Elliot!"

Elliot saw Olivia start to come to her feet. He whipped around, but not fast enough. The man slammed him against the wall as he felt a searing pain in his side. Elliot slipped to the floor, gripping his side with both hands. Hot blood seeped out through his fingers from the knife wound and he could already feel his body beginning to shut down. Darkness threatened to take over his sight as his breath came in heavily and erratically. He saw the man jump forward towards Olivia. She caught his hand with the knife inches before it made contact with her skin. Elliot felt his heart contract in fear. The man twisted his hand away, nearly throwing Olivia off her feet. He then grabbed her neck with one hand, tightening his grip. Olivia struggled briefly, attempting to somehow wedge her gun around so that she could shoot him. But her lungs were screaming for oxygen and she slowly gave up. The perp grinned and threw her against a nearby pile of scrap metal. She hit her head hard and blacked out.

Elliot watched as she lay quite still on her back, bleeding from the gash to her head. The perp was standing over her, looking down at her with a sick interest. He slipped out his knife. Elliot's hands shook as he struggled to pull his gun free. His own blood was making it slippery to grasp and his body was fighting him every step of the way. But he would be damned if his partner didn't live to see her thirtieth birthday. He had seen his, and so it was up to him to save her. Everything that had been falling apart over the past two years had now reached its climax. The final thread was about to unravel.

The perp laughed and swung his knife down.

two years previously

Elliot slid out of the passenger seat of his partner's pick up truck. His partner, Detective White, walked over next to him. Jason White was a seasoned SVU veteran in his late sixties, having worked as a detective on the unit for twenty years. He had been Elliot's mentor and good friend for the five years they had been partnered, and was going to be selecting Elliot's new partner when he retired next month. "Alright kid, let's see what we have here." He said, heading towards the steps of the apartment. Elliot followed after, but they both came to a stop as a cop came walking out of the building. White smiled broadly. "Officer Benson!" The woman paused and looked over at him, a grin coming across her face. Elliot found himself staring as she trotted down the steps and walked over to Jason. She was drop dead gorgeous. Her dark hair was cut just above her shoulders and her beautiful complexion contrasted perfectly with her brilliant chocolate brown eyes.

"Well, Detective, I was sent over to be your back up. But it doesn't look like you will need it. The guy you are looking for isn't here. Looks like he skipped town in a hurry." Benson told White.

"Great. Well how have you been my dear?" White asked her, looking at her with a very paternal gaze.

"Pretty good." She answered, glancing for the first time over at Elliot. Elliot felt his heart do a summersault as she smiled at him. His head screamed at him to get a grip. "You must be Detective Stabler. I have heard a lot about you. I'm Olivia Benson."

"Nice to meet you." Elliot managed to say, holding his hand out. Olivia took it, and Elliot could feel the softness of her hand and the warmth radiating from it. He was hesitant to let go.

White had to smile slightly as he watched his partner greet the beautiful twenty-seven year old. She had a quite endearing quality about her and her whole precinct was completely enamored with her- well at least the males. But White liked her for other reasons. She was smart, tough, witty, and quite a kind lady. If there was anyone who could make his partner feel better, it was her. "Hey Olivia, tonight Elliot and I were going to go for a drink, you want to come?"

"Sure! Just call me." Olivia replied, looking over at White. White nodded his farewell and walked back to his truck. "See you later."

Elliot hadn't budged, and so Olivia turned and started to walk to her car. "I'll pick you up." Elliot suddenly called, surprising himself. Olivia turned back to him, her stunning smile back on her face.

"It's a date then."

As Elliot climbed back into the truck White glanced over at him. "So you like her?" Elliot looked at him. "Not that way, relax. I mean cop to cop."

"Yes."

"Good. Well, she's a nice girl." White said as they moved out into traffic.

"Seems like it." Elliot answered, still not quite sure why he felt this way. He was married, after all.

"She is. Saved my life once too. I was working a case and she was just two months out of the academy, a uniform on scene." White said, but didn't elaborate.

"You never told me that!" Elliot exclaimed, looking over at his partner. Jason shrugged, obviously not keen to discuss it.

"Tell you what, ask her about it tonight." Jason told him, "You sure your wife won't mind?"

"Oh she probably will." Elliot sighed.

"Are things getting better?" Jason asked, genuinely concerned.

"Not really. We are seeing the stupid counselor twice a week, but it's not helping." Elliot said, rubbing his shoulder absently.

Jason suddenly got a rather serious expression on his face. "Do you love her?"

For the first time since he had married Kathy, Elliot didn't know how to answer that question.

A/N #2: Sorry for the kind of slow start, I just have to set up the basis for the story! Lots of big questions, I know. Be patient, all will be revealed soon! Now, REVIEW!!!!!!!! (please)


	2. Partners

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up… damn writer's block! However I think I have recovered, so here it is…. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this, 'Redemption', and 'When the Time Comes'! I have over 100 reviews on those two combined! You guys rock!

And by the way… 'Redemption' does have a sequel in the making- that's why I ended it the way I did. So look for it soon!

Disclaimer: They… aren't… mine…

Note: I have started distinguishing the two separate times in this story by marking them as flashbacks or not.

Flashback…

Olivia took a small sip of her beer as she listened intently to Elliot. For the first time in a long time she felt entirely comfortable around a guy. He was just perfect- except for the wife and four kids. His story was interrupted by the bartender coming by. Olivia pulled out her purse and was digging around for her money when she felt Elliot lay his hand lightly on her wrist. "I got it." Olivia smiled at him as he handed the man a twenty before turning back to her.

"Thanks." She said, her wrist still tingling slightly from where he had touched it.

"Your welcome." Elliot replied, then looked at her curiously. "My partner tells me you saved his life. What happened?"

Olivia nodded and said, "Well I was sent to answer a domestic call, and when I got there SVU had sent a couple detectives over to meet me. I guess the guy had had a couple sexual assault charges and they wanted to be one step ahead. We went inside and the guy had killed his wife a few minutes after she called us. He came up behind Jason when he was looking at the body and Jason didn't see him. I was right there and tackled the bastard."

"Now Olivia, you are leaving out the best part!" exclaimed Jason, turning around from the table he sat at. Olivia blushed as Jason continued, "Seriously Elliot this guy was three times her size. He's got a knife and she twists it out of his hand before they go tumbling into the wall. She wrestles him into handcuffs and by this time the other cop on scene has got his gun on him. It was amazing- little miss here taking on the tub of lard rapist."

Elliot looked over at her, grinning. "Wish I could have seen that!"

Olivia was now bright red and looked away, focusing very hard on finishing her beer. She suddenly felt a light hand on her shoulder. Jason gave her an affectionate pat and then said, "Thanks for coming tonight. My partner's the happiest he's been in weeks. Next time he gets all sulky I will have to have you come in and cheer him up." Elliot playfully glared at his partner, though he was right- he couldn't remember when he had been in this good of a mood.

"You, sulky?" Olivia questioned, raising her eyebrow at Elliot.

"Well sweetheart, I got to head home. The wife will kill me if I am late again." Jason said with a chuckle. He waved to them both and headed out.

"Wow, he is a character." Olivia said with a laugh, "He and Briscoe must hang out."

"Oh they do." Elliot confirmed, smiling at her.

It was close to midnight when Elliot dropped Olivia back off at her apartment. They had chatted for nearly three hours after Jason left. "Thanks." Olivia told Elliot as she stood in her doorway, leaning lightly up against the frame.

"Sure. Are you doing anything Friday?" Elliot asked, then immediately realized it sounded as though he were asking her out. He hoped she overlooked his phrasing- or did he?

"Nope. Same time?" Olivia questioned, looking hopefully up at him.

"See you then." Elliot smiled at her, and then brushed a piece of hair from her cheek. He turned to go, but suddenly she caught his hand. Olivia wasn't quite sure what possessed her to do it, but she kissed his cheek swiftly before hurrying back inside.

Olivia glanced out the window and made sure that he got into his car okay before leaning up against the wall. "What did I just do? I am really setting myself up." She muttered to herself, running a hand through her hair.

The last three weeks of June passed by quickly, and the day after Jason officially retired Elliot was called into Cragen's office. As he walked inside Cragen glanced up from his paperwork. "Jason said that you didn't need any introductions to your new partner, so here's your first case." He said, handing him a file.

Elliot stared at him, taking the file lightly. Cragen sighed and pointed out the window. Elliot glanced through the blinds and found Munch greeting a young woman with dark hair. His breath caught in his throat and he raced out the door. "Olivia!"

She turned away from Munch and smiled broadly at him. Munch looked between the two and folded his arms irritably across his chest. "I don't understand why you get the good looking one Elliot- you're married. I get Fin instead."

Fin looked up from his desk, glaring over at Munch. "It's because you would scare her away with your conspiracy theories, Munch. At least Elliot will be able to teach her useful stuff." Munch turned a scathing glare on his partner before stalking off to make some coffee.

Olivia smirked and then walked over to Elliot. "Ready to go, partner?"

"You bet, Liv." Elliot said, tossing her the keys to his car.

The fourth of July rolled around, hot and breezy. Olivia was just finishing up her first full week of being a detective and was looking forward to a short day at work. However as she and Elliot packed up to leave Cragen suddenly came out of his office, looking quite distraught. "Benson, Stabler. We just got a new case."

Elliot glanced up, watching as Cragen stuck a couple photos to the blackboard. One was of a woman in her thirties with long black hair who was quite pretty. The other was of a man around her age whose hazel eyes were very kind looking. Olivia looked over at him, clearly confused. "This is Mr. and Mrs. Overland. Big on the political scene." Cragen continued, and then stuck a final picture up. The two were lying side by side in pools of blood, both shot several times. Judging by the tear in the woman's skirt and bruising around her thighs and neck, she had been raped too. "They were murdered last night after a fundraiser gala in Maine. Mrs. Overland was raped as well."

"Do we think it was because of the political party they were involved in?" Olivia questioned.

"Nope. They were each from different ends of the political spectrum. The Overland's had been working to find common ground between the right and left wings." Cragen answered, looking sadly at the pictures.

Elliot sighed and then asked, "Why isn't Maine handling this?"

"They are. And that's why they called us. The next political event these two would have attended is in Manhattan. They have reason to believe whoever did this is going to strike again."

"They need undercover." Elliot finished for him, glancing over at Olivia.

"That's right. Benson, are you up for this?" Cragen questioned, and at Olivia's nod said, "Good. You two need to go get ready. The event starts in two days and will last a week."

As they stood to go Cragen stopped them. "There is one other thing… they were found wearing these thin white bracelets. We don't know the significance yet, but keep a lookout."

Elliot took the file from him, examining the blow up of a thin white bracelet on both their wrists.

Elliot flopped down on the couch while Olivia sat herself neatly in a chair nearby. It wasn't long before their commanding officer walked in, a brusque older woman who had handled numerous undercover operations. "Study them over. I will be back shortly." She said as she handed them their profiles. With that she marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Well, I went to American University in DC, nice. Double majored in… political science and international business, surprise surprise." Elliot began, reading off his paper.

"Impressive," Olivia answered, "I went there too, looks like we were in the same class. And I double majored in political science and diplomacy."

"We have been married three years, just starting to get actively involved in politics. No wait… not politics exactly; we are independents, no party. But we are very wealthy and donate to good causes." Elliot said, gazing over his paper in interest.

Olivia's face suddenly contorted in disgust. "You have to be kidding me…"

"What?"

"My current occupation is a fashion designer."

Elliot nearly doubled over laughing and was still smirking as he stated, "Well I am the owner of a small oil company inherited from daddy. But we only rake in a few million a year."

"This could be interesting." Olivia said, and they finished reading their profiles in silence.

Shortly after that the woman came marching back in. "Are you two ready?"

Olivia and Elliot nodded, though both were quite unsure of just what they were getting into.

Olivia adjusted the halter top of her extraordinary dress she was wearing for the opening ball that night. Her hair had been curled and styled beautifully along with her makeup and nails being done to perfection. Elliot knocked on the bathroom door and she called for him to come in.

"Oh my God." Elliot said, looking stunned. Olivia grinned, turning around once for him. "You look amazing."

"Thanks. You clean up pretty nice to." Olivia said with a grin, indicating to his tux.

They went over to their hotel room door and slowly opened it. Elliot felt Olivia slip her arm through his and they proceeded down the corridor.

End Flashback…

The young woman rolled over onto her side. Pain shot through her body as she reached her hands out and dug them into the hard floor, dragging herself across the ground. She looked over at the lady cop lying quietly on her back. Her partner was lying on his side nearby. Neither one had moved for quite a while, and just continued to bleed out. The woman pulled herself over to him, unclipping his cell phone from his belt. She put it to her ear and placed her one hand on his. Just as the operator picked up, she felt him flex his fingers against hers. The woman was so surprised that she didn't answer the man on the other line for a second. Then she managed to gasp out, "I need help."

It seemed to take ages for the medics to arrive. The woman looked up as the warehouse door clanged open and felt tears of relief stream down her face. She squeezed the cop's hand a little harder- but for the first time he didn't respond. Sophia shook his hand lightly and tried to get a reaction from him, but got nothing. Suddenly she felt a pair of hands grab her lightly around the waist. Sophia screamed as the paramedic lifted her away.

Olivia was shaking and curled harder against the warm body holding her. Sound hurt, light hurt, and it was freezing cold. "That's it sweetheart. Wake up." The gentle voice holding her said. Olivia slowly opened her eyes as she felt a jolt. The paramedic was standing and starting to step away. She turned her head, glancing around the warehouse. Suddenly everything that had happened hit her like a ton of bricks. Several medics were crowded around someone.

"Elliot! Elliot!" Olivia screamed, fighting against her hold.

"Take it easy! You are going to hurt yourself!" the paramedic said, only tightening his grip.

Olivia fought harder, straining to see her partner. But her vision was starting to fail her and she felt unconsciousness creeping back up on her. She made a final kick and freed herself just enough. Her feet hit the ground all she used the last of her strength to wriggle out from underneath his arms.

White. A white sheet. Olivia stumbled forward as they pulled the sheet over someone lying on the ground. "Elliot!" she yelled one last time before her vision completely died and she collapsed in anguish. The medic came up behind her and caught her before she fell. As she fell into a dark sleep again, Olivia wondered briefly why he had bothered. She had already fallen.

A/N 2: Okay you know the drill… Review.


	3. White Bracelet

A/N: Just thought I would mention that I am doing some alterations in this story to the shows chronology. As Woemcat pointed out, Fin does arrive after Olivia in the show, but I changed that for this stories purposes. Well, thanks for all the reviews! Oh, and there is a good deal of STRONG PG-13 'fluff' in this chapter.

Flashback…

Olivia stuck to Elliot's side like glue the entire time they were mingling at the opening party. They had made several friends already- all eager to have them donate to their political organization. After a couple hours Elliot left her briefly to go and pick up some drinks. Olivia glanced around awkwardly. A dark haired man nearby caught her attention, as he was staring at her in a calculating sort of way. The instant he noticed her gaze he smiled and walked over. "I am sorry, lady. It's just I haven't seen you before." He said, taking her hand and kissing it gently.

Olivia smiled politely and answered, "Yes, well my husband and I just got involved in this recently. We both were political science majors, but our jobs pulled us away from the political world for a while."

The man nodded and said, "I hope you have a good time, Mrs…"

"Liv Sanderson." Olivia said quickly.

"Mrs. Sanderson. It's been a pleasure." He said, and took her hand again. "Please, take this."

Olivia felt him slip something over her wrist and she looked down. A white bracelet.

She barely masked her surprise, covering with a broad grin of delight as she looked at it. "Thank you, sir."

"Your are welcome. It symbolizes the unity we must strive for in politics." He replied, smiling a smile that didn't reach his eyes. They both turned as Elliot came walking over. He handed her a glass of wine and put one arm around her waist. "You are a very lucky man, Mr. Sanderson, to have such a beautiful wife."

"I know." Elliot replied, kissing her temple gently. Olivia grinned and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I am afraid I didn't catch your name."

"It's Justin. Have a wonderful time you two."

Olivia sat down on the edge of the bed, running her fingers nervously over the white bracelet. Their commanding officer was talking with Elliot, and they were having a spirited debate on what to do. The officer, Mrs. Gunnison, was undercover as a hotel guest, and was in the room just down the hall. "Well, I don't think there is anything wrong with arresting him now." She said firmly, and Elliot nodded, knowing that she didn't want to hear anymore arguing.

Olivia jerked her head up and exclaimed, "No!"

Mrs. Gunnison slowly turned to face her, eying her like she was a misbehaving child. "Now, Detective, give me a good reason as to why not."

Olivia stood and walked over to her, "Because, he gave me one bracelet. Someone else has another one. It's not his MO to kill one person, he always does a pair."

"Well all the better reason to arrest him now." Gunnison replied, looking at Olivia with unmasked disdain.

"No, because I know he has an accomplice. If we arrest him, it will tip his partner off, who could kill the other person who has one of these."

"What makes you think he has an accomplice? The previous murders appeared to be a single perp."

"Just the way he acted. I know he isn't doing this alone." Olivia answered.

"I agree with Benson, arresting the guy now could severely jeopardize whoever has the other bracelet's life." Elliot put in, folding his arms across his chest.

Gunnison nodded slowly, "Alright. Well keep me up to date. We have no idea when this guy is going to strike. Find the other person with the bracelet, and fast."

Elliot flopped down on his back, yawning widely. It was almost eleven and he was exhausted. Olivia was sitting on the edge of the bed and was reading through a pamphlet highlighting events over the course of the week. "It says that tomorrow night there is another banquet dinner, awarding some old gentleman with some sort of honor. Everyone should be there, it looks like it's a big deal."

"Good. We will find the next potential vic tomorrow." Elliot said, and then he shut off the lamp on his side of the bed and wriggled under the covers.

"Tired?" questioned Olivia with a grin. Elliot grunted a little in response, already falling asleep.

Suddenly a loud knock came at the door. Olivia got up slowly and glanced through the peephole. She immediately sighed and opened the door. One of her very hyperactive new acquaintances and her husband were standing outside. The second she opened the door, Sandra threw her arms around Olivia's neck. "Liv! I am so glad you are still awake! Frank and I were just going for a swim, want to come?"

Olivia plastered a smile on her face and said, "Of course, we will meet you down there in ten minutes." Sandra giggled and hugged her again before dragging her husband off down the hall with her.

Elliot stuck a foot into the water, surprised to find it quite warm. The indoor pool was quite an interesting set up- small caves and overhangs with waterfalls were scattered throughout it, with the occasional fake palm tree. Olivia slipped off her robe and hung her legs over the edge, dangling them in the cool water. Elliot sat down beside her and rolled his eyes as Sandra and her husband floated of to a secluded cave. "What's the story with your friend?"

"Well she inherited a huge restaurant company from her parents, and is a mutli-millionaire and high school drop out. She comes to these types of things to donate money so that she looks good." Olivia answered, kicking her feet lightly in the water.

Elliot shook his head before jumping into the water. Olivia winced as the water splashed up on her. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just don't want to get wet." Olivia replied, and then instantly realized that she shouldn't have said it. She scrambled to stand up, but Elliot grabbed her waist and pulled her down into the water. Olivia came up, glaring at Elliot as she pushed her hair from her eyes. He grinned broadly at her.

After a while they found themselves over by one of the waterfalls. Olivia swam underneath it, finding a very small little enclave comprised of the rock overhang, a semicircular rock wall, and the outer wall that was the waterfall. Elliot came up a second later. The water was only up to their waists in the little area and was swirling slightly from the force of the waterfall. Olivia glanced over at Elliot, suddenly feeling more then a little awkward. He smiled at her, running a hand down her jaw. "I am glad to have you as a partner, Liv. You are probably the best thing that's happened to me lately."

"Thanks." Olivia answered, laying a hand on his shoulder. He took a step forward and she backed up against the wall. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she felt him press up against her, his hands on her hips. "Elliot…" she murmured. He didn't respond and instead leaned down, catching her lips in his. Olivia almost gasped in surprise, but wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her hips against him. She inhaled sharply as his hands roamed her back and continued down.

When he opened her mouth she realized she was losing control of the situation. But for some reason, she couldn't stop. He put one hand the back of her neck, pressing her almost painfully hard to him. His other hand slid up her belly and to her swimsuit top.

Suddenly they heard a loud splash. They both whipped around, Elliot removing his hand from her chest quickly. Sandra came laughing in, her husband close behind. However she abruptly stopped as she saw them. Olivia turned bright red. She knew Sandra had seen where Elliot's hand had been. "Oh my, I am sorry, Liv." She said, and then grinned at their silence, "Guys, it's okay. Seriously, you act like you are having an affair or something."

"We're not!" exclaimed Olivia.

"I know, Liv! You are married! Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Sandra said in surprise at Olivia's reaction.

"No, I'm sorry. See you tomorrow at the banquet?"

"Sure thing Liv. Bye!" Sandra said, instantly forgetting their little conflict.

Olivia and Elliot hastily made their way back to their hotel room. Olivia shut the door quickly, panting with guilt and shock. Elliot was looking quite distraught; evidently he hadn't understood what just happened either. "Liv?"

"You're married, Elliot!" exclaimed Olivia, a tear falling down her cheek despite her best efforts to stop it.

He walked over to her and stroked her cheek. "I am sorry Olivia. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please, just this once... just this once."

Olivia shut her eyes and then wrapped her arms around him. He held her in his arms for several minutes, both taking comfort in each other's warmth. After a while Elliot felt Olivia shift. She placed a kiss on his neck and moved to his lips. He immediately kissed her back with passion. His fingers slid expertly over the clasp on her swimsuit top and undid it.

When they finally made it to the bed, they remained there a long while, staying up late into the night. At almost four in the morning Elliot rolled off top of her, wiping his forehead. Olivia lay on her back, breathing heavily. He leaned over and gently pushed some sweaty hair from her face. "Are you okay?" he questioned, looking at her in concern.

Olivia smiled and nodded, curling up against his chest. They fell asleep in no time, both still unsure as to what had just happened. And that was when it began- they had no idea how much they would defy Elliot's statement of 'just this once' in the years to come. But what they most didn't expect were the great consequences.

End Flashback…

Olivia felt a searing pain in her head as she opened her eyes. It took a moment to focus her vision and the bright lights didn't help. Her surroundings immediately became recognizable. A hospital. She shot up to a sitting position, nearly passing out again from the exertion.

"Hey, take it easy, Olivia!" came a voice. Olivia turned and saw Munch, Fin, Alex, and Cragen all standing beside her bed.

"Where's Elliot? And how's the victim?" Olivia questioned.

She didn't like the glance they all shared before John finally said, "She's going to be alright, she just got through surgery. Perp cut her up pretty bad, so she going to be in a lot of pain."

"And Elliot?"

"He's… he is still in surgery. They don't think he is going to make it." John said, taking a deep breath.

Olivia put her hands over her face and attempted to maintain her composure. She felt her hospital ID bracelet rub against her wrists as she did so, reminding her again of the memories she had been dealing with since this started. Olivia felt her heart contract in pain. The past was really coming back to haunt to her.

"What happened, Olivia?" Alex questioned gently, looking over at her sympathetically.

Olivia dropped her hands and swallowed the lump in her throat. "We were standing outside, waiting for backup. But then we heard a scream, and knew he probably had another victim. We couldn't wait, he could have killed her if we did. So we went inside and found her lying on the floor, there was blood everywhere. Elliot was just about to radio for a bus when the girl suddenly screamed again. I turned around and saw the perp. He came so fast we couldn't do anything in time." She paused and then said, "I saw Elliot go down and I attempted to get the knife from the perp's hand. He grabbed my neck until I couldn't fight him anymore and then threw me up against something. I don't remember anything else."

Alex nodded and patted her hand. "Thanks."

"What happened to the perp?" Olivia asked.

"Elliot shot him. He was dead on scene." Cragen answered. Olivia nodded and then noted a sharp pain in the back of her head. She reached back and flinched when her fingers moved over an extremely painful spot. "You have six stitches back there. You are lucky they somehow managed to get them in without cutting your hair." Cragen told her with a slight smile.

"Does Elliot's family know what happened?"

"Yes, I put in a call to them. They should be on their way."

They all turned the other direction when they heard a knock. A young doctor walked in and smiled at Olivia. "Hello Ms. Benson. How are you feeling?"

"Okay. Have you heard anything about my partner?" Olivia questioned him immediately.

The doctor sighed and shook his head. "Nothing yet."

Alex agreed to go wait outside for any news and was getting so nervous that she couldn't even focus on the work she needed to finish for a big trial the next day. She had moved for a continuance, but wasn't sure whether she had gotten it yet or not. The DA was going to be calling soon to let her know. It seemed like an eternity that she was out there, and so when the doctor finally came trudging out of the operating room, she was on her feet in seconds. "Are you Mr. Stabler's family?" he questioned.

"No, I am a friend. How is he?" Alex asked, her stomach twisting up in knots.

The doctor took a deep breath and dropped his gaze.


	4. Coming Home

A/N: Just thought I would thank you all for putting up with the chronological jumping of this story, I know it can be hard to follow sometimes… I love you guys! Sorry for the delay in getting this up- all my teachers decided that this past week and a half would be an excellent time to triple the homework load.

Disclaimer: Oh yeah, they aren't mine…

Flashback…

Olivia woke up late the next morning, finding Elliot already gone. She sat up, running a hand through her hair and yawning. Only then did the events of the previous night hit her completely. Everything about it had been wrong. But she had done absolutely nothing to stop it, and what was even worse, she hadn't wanted it to. Not only had she helped him cheat on his wife, she had allowed herself to completely throw into jeopardy the job that she had so badly wanted to attain for years. Olivia sighed and mentally berated herself.

The door then clicked open and Elliot walked back in, dressed in a nice suit and carrying a large bag of what looked like breakfast food. "Morning. They had a breakfast buffet, so I got us some stuff." He said, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Thanks." Olivia said, smiling slightly at him. She pulled the sheet up a little more around her and took the croissant he was holding out to her. They didn't say much else for a while, only split their breakfast sandwiches and fruit dishes. When they finished breakfast Olivia stood up and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. Elliot stood and walked over to her.

"So… last night…" he began awkwardly.

Olivia sighed and didn't answer.

By the time they were supposed to leave for the banquet, both Olivia and Elliot were more than ready to focus on the task at hand than walk around in a guilty silence. Olivia selected perhaps her favorite dress, a dramatic red with a long train behind it and a strapless top. She was also sure to wear the white bracelet.

"I got this the other day from a man here, I just love it!" exclaimed Olivia, showing off the bracelet to a group of people for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

The group smiled forcibly and said that it was nice. Elliot handed Olivia a glass of champagne and they walked away from the group. "No luck so far." Olivia muttered to him, glancing around.

"We can only try the 'show the bracelet' tactic for so much longer, otherwise someone might get suspicious." Elliot said softly, smiling and waving at one of his friends.

"I know. Let's just try one more group." Olivia said, ambling over to the next large gathering.

This time however, a man smiled at her and said, "I got one too! A lady gave it to me."

Olivia quickly asked, "Really? Who?"

He glanced around and then pointed to a blonde woman standing over the wall, his bracelet swinging lightly from his wrist. Elliot nodded at Olivia, striding away towards the woman.

There was an instant uproar. Several party guests screamed as loud shots echoed through the wide room. Olivia leapt forward, knocking the man to the ground. He stared up at her in shock as he realized how close they were to getting hit by the bullet that had zipped through the spot where they had been standing only seconds before. "Sir, as soon as it's clear I need you to get out of the banquet hall. I am with the NYPD, and some of my colleagues will be ready to help you."

"I don't understand…" the man began, looking as though this was the most excitement he had seen in the entirety of his life. 

"Your bracelet. You were selected to be murdered." Olivia replied quickly, slowly sliding off him and glancing around. The room was in absolute chaos. People were screaming and crying as they stepped on broken glass. "Get out of here! Go to Room 264." Olivia told him, holding out her hand. He took it and she pulled him to his feet, rushing him over to the exit doors. "Hurry!"

But Olivia quickly realized that this man was so confused and stunned that he wasn't going anywhere fast. She turned around and looked for Elliot, but he was nowhere to be seen. Olivia bit back the worry twisting in her stomach and then grabbed the man's hand again, hauling him off down the hall. They sprinted down the steps and ran down the dark corridor. Olivia knocked loudly on the door of the room and Mrs. Gunnison opened it, looking quite frazzled. She had her radio in hand and was apparently radioing back up in. "This is the other victim." Olivia said simply, shoving the man inside the room and then turned to run back.

Mrs. Gunnison called out, "Detective!" Olivia stopped and turned to catch the gun Mrs. Gunnison tossed to her. "Your back up will be getting there soon. Just keep them inside the room."

Olivia ran back up the hall, finding Elliot pinning the blonde woman to the ground. She was making an impressive effort to get free and Elliot had to put his full weight on her to keep her down. "He's over there!" Elliot screamed, pointing over in the direction of the large balcony. The woman used this brief moment of weakness to flail her arm up, whacking him across the shoulder.

Another gunshot echoed through the room, which was quickly emptying into the hall. Olivia leapt aside, and then saw Justin standing at the doors of the balcony with a nine millimeter held steadily at her. She took a few slow steps towards him, her weapon raised as well. "Justin, come on. Give me the gun. We can end this peacefully."

"You know, you really put yourself at risk. If I would have known you were a cop I never would have killed you. You aren't what I am interested in." Justin replied, allowing her to step even closer.

"Oh yes? What are you interested in?" Olivia questioned, now very close to him.

"These people that think we can find common ground, it's just flat out irritating. We can never get along. They only make it worse." He replied, his logic clearly impressing himself. Olivia just stared at him, finding absolutely no sense in what he had just said.

"Justin, give me your gun." Olivia said, holding out her hand slowly, the bracelet dangling ominously from it. Justin smiled crookedly and shook his head.

A loud crash signaled the SWAT teams arrival and Olivia heard the clattering of the feet coming up behind her. Justin placed his finger on the trigger. Less than a second later he fell dead with three bullets in him. Olivia turned and saw a SWAT member lower their rifle, nodding slightly at her.

Elliot handed the woman off to the team and walked over to Olivia. "Good work Detective."

"You too." She answered, hugging him briefly. And so it was they solved their first case together. No one had been severely injured in the shooting episode and the woman involved was given twenty five to life. They both viewed it as quite the success- in more ways than one, whether they admitted it or not.

Over the next few months Olivia and Elliot were quite busy with a string of new cases and stayed late at the precinct almost every night. It was a relief when they took a day off to practice for the cop's flag football game the next day against the Bronx SVU. Elliot and Olivia wound up on different practice teams, something that Elliot was more than a little disappointed about, as Olivia was probably the best player in SVU. And not only that, but it was his job to cover her.

Olivia grinned over at him as they all lined up to play. As soon as they broke the formation, Fin, the quarterback, immediately found a wide open Olivia. She caught the ball deftly, sprinting down the side of the field. Elliot sighed and took off after her, reaching in vain for her flag. Just as she stepped into touchdown zone, Elliot decided that he would just have to break the rules. He lunged forward, grabbed her waist and dragged her down onto the ground. Olivia glared at him and said, "I still got a touchdown, loser. You didn't get my flag."

Elliot smirked and waved the blue cloth in front of her face. Olivia rolled her eyes but couldn't keep from laughing as she made a couple lame attempts to push him off of her. He took his own sweet time getting up off of her as her teammates screamed their disgust at him.

Munch looked furiously at Elliot- though it didn't have quite the same effect as usual, as he looked so out of place in his practice clothes. "Elliot, this is _flag _football. Did you forget that in your desperation to get an excuse to jump on your beautiful partner? And by the way, we still won this game."

Fin, the most competitive of the group, ran over to Olivia, demanding to know if she was alright. When she assured him that she was fine he then went into a long tirade about how Elliot had fouled. When they finally pulled themselves up of the muddy ground Elliot admitted the other team's victory.

They walked together over to Elliot's car, parked just behind the indoor gym. As soon as they were out of sight he pulled her up against him, kissing her with great passion. Olivia was a little surprised- they hadn't so much as hugged since that night when they were undercover. But she quickly recovered, tightening her arms around his neck. He slid his hand up her shirt and pressed her harder against the side of the car. "Elliot… not here." Olivia mumbled, pulling his hand out.

"Tomorrow night… after the game." Elliot whispered in her ear. She smiled at him and nodded.

When Elliot walked into his house that night he was immediately approached by Kathy. "Where have you been?" she snapped.

"Practice. This flag football thing is new, we aren't all that good." He replied steadily. Kathy rolled her eyes.

Maureen walked by, doing a double take when she looked at her father. "Whoa dad, you and Olivia take up mud wrestling?"

Kathy bristled at this remark and glared at Elliot. "No, I fell during the game." He told his daughter. She didn't pay much attention as she had already moved on to grab the phone and call her friend.

Lizzie and Dickie both ran over to greet him, and Elliot scooped his youngest daughter up. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, not seeming to mind the mud. "Daddy?"

"What, sweetheart?"

"Can we meet Olivia? She sounds nice." Elizabeth asked, her eyes pleading.

"Of course! I am sure she would love to meet you." Elliot replied, smiling at her. Elizabeth grinned back and curled up against his chest.

End Flashback….

Olivia opened her eyes, the evening light causing her to squint. She yawned widely, still drowsy from her medication. Shoving the blankets off of her she sat up on her couch and then stood. It had been three weeks since the accident and Cragen had forced her to take sick leave. Not that she could have worked very well- her medication made her sleep constantly. She slowly made her way into the kitchen for a snack.

A knock on the door made her look up. She started over to it, setting down the bottle of Pepsi she had pulled out. But they didn't wait for her, and she heard the key scrape in the lock. Olivia froze as the door swung open. "Hey Liv." Elliot said, his voice softer than usual, but his eyes as bright as ever.

"Elliot!" Olivia exclaimed, running over to him and gently taking him into her arms. She buried her head into his shoulder and held him close, reveling in the warmth of his body against hers. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pressed his cheek against her silky chestnut hair. His other hand ran gently up and down her back. When she finally let him go, she was crying. Elliot took her face in both hands, gently kissing her forehead.

"It's alright, Liv. I am going to be fine." Elliot told her gently. Olivia didn't answer, just placed her hands very gently on his injured side. He laid his much larger hands over hers and said quietly, "The doctor's said I could go home today as long as I had someone to stay with. You up for the challenge?"

"Of course." Olivia said, smiling broadly at him. She then wrapped her arms around his neck once more, breathing in his familiar scent and shutting her eyes.

When Alex had come back in crying Olivia instantly thought the worst. And for that brief moment, she knew what it felt like when your soul died. Then Alex had told her Elliot had pulled through surgery, and as long as he had the strength to keep on fighting, he would be alright. Olivia had visited him every day in the hospital, though more often than not he was asleep. She had of course been discharged a day after the incident, as her injuries were relatively minor.

And now here he was. He had come home.

Elliot held her close to him, his hands tracing lines up and down her sides. As the warm heat of her breath tickled his neck, he remembered…

A/N #2: So that's the end of 'Part One'… now on to 'Part Two'…. REVIEW!


	5. Guilt

A/N: A nice and quick update for you- and its even the longest so far! See what happens when my teachers decide not to give my homework over the weekend? Oh, and this chapter has some more strong PG-13.

Disclaimer: I own the plot… but not the characters…

Flashback…

The winter air was just setting in, cold and gray with the promise of snow. Olivia slipped out of her jacket as she stepped into the precinct, grateful for the warmth it offered. She trotted over to her desk, eager to get to work. Elliot turned around when he heard her and grinned broadly. Olivia couldn't help but blush slightly, remembering Friday night. He seemed to realize that's what she was thinking and smirked even wider. Olivia quickly looked away before they made anyone suspicious. She sat down slowly on her desk chair, unable to recall an occasion when her legs were this sore. This of course elicited a very badly covered up laugh on Elliot's part. She glared up at him as he pretended to cough. Her gaze simply made him cough louder. Olivia rolled her eyes and then leaned forward whispering, "God Elliot, you are going to get us in trouble."

"I am not." he replied in a cocky tone, "So tell me, how was your horseback ride Saturday?"

Olivia grinned despite herself and said, "Oh it was wonderful. My old mentor let me ride his new project horse, because he knew I was such a good rider. Well, you can imagine how that turned out, thanks to you."

"Sorry. You shouldn't have given into temptation Friday night, Benson. Then maybe you could have actually enjoyed your ride." Elliot answered smugly.

"You are one to talk about giving into temptation, Elliot. It was a good ride, only a very painful one." Olivia replied, looking down at her file as she started to read it over.

Just as she did so, Munch walked by, instantly suspicious at the 'painful ride' comment. "What?"

Olivia flushed and said, "I went riding with my old mentor, he was a cop in the mounted unit. He gave me his new horse to ride because he knows I always liked riding the difficult ones. So now I am very sore!"

Munch sighed and walked off, apparently dissatisfied with her reply. Elliot didn't say a word, only kept staring at his file.

It was a fairly good day for a Monday, and they even got sent home early. Olivia was quite happy about this, as she hadn't felt well all day. She and Elliot hurried out of the precinct and into the cold outside. Snow was beginning to fall and Olivia hurried into Elliot's car, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Elliot slid into the driver's side and looked over at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Olivia replied, leaning her head up against the window.

Elliot watched her with worry but didn't say anything else as he drove her home. He got out of the car first upon reaching her apartment and opened her car door for her. Olivia smiled at him and stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem." Elliot replied, but stood as though waiting to hear more.

"Do you want to come up?" she asked him, though she knew the answer. Elliot grinned widely and put his arm through hers.

Later that night they lay flopped on Olivia's couch. She had changed into low rise sleep pants and a white shirt, while Elliot was just in his boxers. He placed a kiss on her neck as he propped himself up on his elbows to prevent his entire weight from being on her. She grinned and traced her hands up his chest as she tightened her legs around him. "Liv?"

"Yes?" she answered, noticing his sudden seriousness.

"You know that I love you, right?" he said, looking into her eyes.

Olivia looked up at him in surprise. But Elliot didn't see just surprise in her wide eyed gaze. He knew that being 'the other woman' had been eating away at her, and it caused him great pain to know that he was the cause of her guilt and hurt. She then nodded slowly, an extremely sad smile coming to her lips. "I love you too."

Elliot reached out and wiped the tear that fell slowly from the corner of her eye. As he stroked the side of her cheek he said quietly, "There is nothing in the world that I want more than to see you happy. You were the first person that ever really saw me for me. Kathy married me because she had to; she never really liked the idea of me being a cop. But you… you are the one person who knew me and the one that I hoped would one day love me."

"I do Elliot. I do." Olivia replied, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He pulled her up into a sitting position, his hands resting on her hips and her legs on either side of him. She leaned down and kissed him, the intensity gradually rising as she adjusted her angle. He let her push him down until he was on his back and felt her hands tug at the edges of the boxers.

He left her apartment late that night, though he kept it short because Olivia was really extremely sore from the weekend. Her legs were extremely bruised and he could tell it hurt her when she stretched the tired muscles. He had carried her into the bedroom after they finished and tucked her in. She had fallen asleep quickly, and then he took a quick shower and headed home.

When he walked inside he found Maureen sitting on the couch watching a movie. "Hey sweetheart, what are you doing up this late?"

Maureen turned back to him and smiled. "No school tomorrow. It's winter break remember?"

"Right." Elliot replied, taking off his jacket and sitting down beside her.

"Dad… I was wondering what is going on with you and mom."

Elliot looked down at her in surprise. "Nothing, why?"

"Don't lie. I know you two have been seeing that marriage counselor." Maureen replied, folding her arms over her chest.

"Oh it's just a phase, Maureen. Married people go through things like that." Elliot answered, standing up and walking into the kitchen.

"Maybe you mean it's a phase married people go through when the husband has a beautiful partner named Olivia." Maureen said.

Elliot stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on dad! You can't be that blind! Olivia's great, I mean I have hung out with her a lot, and it's totally obvious when she talks about you. Besides, do you really think I haven't heard you and mom arguing about her the past few months?" Maureen answered, walking over to him.

"What's obvious when she talks about me?" Elliot asked, unable to keep looking his daughter in the eye.

Maureen sighed and said, "You ought to know. Look dad, don't you think it's about time to stop living a lie?" Elliot didn't answer, his heart was clenched painfully in his chest. "And by the way, mom's out with friends tonight."

Three weeks later on New Year's Eve Elliot and Olivia attended the annual police ball together, and then headed back to Olivia's. Elliot was very worried about her; she had been acting funny all night. Olivia hurried in to change out of her dress and brought Elliot out a change of clothes he left at her apartment. She sat down on her couch, running her hands up and down her face briefly. Elliot came back out, sitting down next to her. He laid his hand very lightly on her thigh and she jumped. "What is wrong?" he questioned, now extremely concerned.

Olivia looked up at him and stood, backing away slowly. "You are going to hate me." She said quietly.

"Olivia, what are you talking about?" Elliot questioned, getting up and walking over to her. He felt her shake as he took her arms.

"I'm pregnant Elliot." Olivia said, tears streaking down her face as she shut her eyes.

Elliot stared for a second and then said, "I thought you were taking birth control."

"I was. It didn't work!" Olivia exclaimed, and Elliot slowly released her arms. "I am so sorry Elliot. Please… don't hate me."

"I don't hate you." Elliot said, wrapping his arms around her gently. She hugged him back tightly, burying her face in his chest. "How far along?"

"Two and a half months." She answered, looking up at him.

Elliot nodded slowly. "That night after the flag football game."

Olivia nodded in reply and said, "I have been meaning to tell you for so long, but I didn't want to lose you."

"You aren't going to lose me." Elliot told her, gently kissing her forehead. Then he slowly knelt down, raising up her shirt. He kissed her belly before rising again and placing his hand on it. "We are going to find a way to work this out."

When they started work again, Olivia and Elliot walked into Cragen's office, dreading what they had to tell him. "Hey Captain, Olivia needs to go on desk duty for a few months."

Cragen looked up at them both, quite stunned. "You already want to quit, Benson?"

"No! I love this job. I really do. But I have to go on desk duty." She replied.

"Why?" he questioned.

"Because I'm pregnant." Olivia said quietly, looking away.

Cragen's jaw dropped and he looked over at Elliot. "Oh my God Elliot! What the hell has been going on between you two?"

Elliot turned slightly red as he said, "Well Captain, enough has been going on between us that I am the father of her baby."

Cragen placed his hands over his face and shook his head. "I don't believe this. But Benson, you can go on desk duty."

"Thanks Captain." She said, smiling at him.

"Your welcome. Take good care of yourself. But I need to talk to Elliot privately for a moment." Cragen said, and Olivia glanced at Elliot, who nodded to her. As soon as she shut the door Cragen yelled, "Elliot! What the hell did you do to her?"

"Captain…"

"You know the rules. No relationships that interfere with work."

"It's not interfering. I have been seeing her since before she even started here." Elliot replied.

Cragen's jaw dropped and he said, "I am stunned. You are the last person I would have expected to have to deal with this from. Does Kathy know?"

"No. Please don't say anything to her. I am going to tell her myself." Elliot said, looking pleadingly at Cragen.

"Okay, but by the time she starts showing, if you haven't said anything to your _wife _I am going to have to." Cragen replied, looking sternly at Elliot. "And I want you to know, I am very disappointed with you."

At the end of that week Cragen had pulled in a replacement partner for Elliot. Olivia was sitting typing up a report when she walked in. "Olivia Benson. I never thought I would see you here."

Olivia turned and saw the young blonde looking back at her. Her eyes widened and she said, "What are you doing here?"

"I am…" she started, but was cut off by Elliot's arrival. "You must be Detective Stabler. I am Detective Sandra Brown." Elliot shook her hand hesitantly. "I am your new temporary partner." Sandra continued.

"Oh. Nice to meet you." Elliot said, sitting down at his desk. Sandra glanced over at Olivia and smirked.

Olivia walked into the precinct a couple months later, and was more than a little self conscious. Her belly was starting to show. Sandra turned around and, of course, noticed instantly.

"Olivia, I didn't know you were pregnant! Or did you just get fat?" she questioned.

Olivia glared at her and sat down, everyone now staring at her. Elliot stared angrily at his temporary partner. "Say something like that again and I will kill you myself."

Sandra smiled seductively at him and ignored his comment. She walked over and sat down on Olivia's desk. "You always were such a slut. That whole thing with our instructor at the academy, I mean really. You will screw anyone to get ahead, won't you?"

Olivia turned bright red and didn't say a word. Elliot looked over at her in surprise. "What?"


	6. Pain

A/N: Okay I promise next chapter is going to have some major action, but this one is mostly a dialogue type thing…

Oh, and I discovered that I have _two _Sandra's in this story- oops! My bad! However, they are NOT the same people. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused!

Disclaimer: I don't own them… yet…

Flashback Continued…

Sandra turned brightly to Elliot and said, "She never told you about him? Well I can. She got caught with him at his apartment one night. IAB tried to hush it up because Officer Davis was one of the best instructors, so not many people know about it."

"That's not what happened!" Olivia exclaimed, standing up and glaring at Sandra.

Sandra looked back over at her with disdain and said, "You really aren't that pretty you know. I am better looking by far."

Munch, who was sitting at his desk watching the fight, suddenly piped up, "I beg to differ, Sandra."

Sandra wheeled around to yell at him when Cragen walked out. "This is not high school, children! You all sit down and get back to work!"

Elliot was thoroughly furious with his stupid temporary partner and gave her a heap of paperwork to do while he made some phone calls. But he couldn't help but wonder what had gone on with Olivia and Davis. Olivia didn't say a word the rest of the day, and kept herself extremely busy with paperwork. It was quite the relief when they were allowed to go home. Elliot, of course, went to Olivia's apartment with her.

As Olivia shut the door she turned back to Elliot. "Do I really look fat?" she questioned him, placing her hands over her stomach.

"No! You are really small for five months, actually." Elliot replied, walking over to her.

"Okay." Olivia answered, running her hand through her hair.

"Liv… what was Sandra talking about?"

"Nothing." Olivia said dismissively, walking away.

Elliot went after her, seizing her wrist. "Tell me."

"Elliot, I really don't want to talk about it." Olivia replied, looking quite upset as he pulled her around to face him.

"You told me you hadn't slept with anyone before." Elliot said, knowing that his jealousy was beginning to impair his judgment.

"We didn't sleep together!" Olivia exclaimed, jerking away.

"I am supposed to believe that? It sounded like Sandra knew what she was talking about." Elliot snapped back, immediately regretting it.

"Oh yes? Then you think I am a slut too, right?" Olivia said, backing away from him.

"That's not what I said! I just want you to tell me the truth!" Elliot exclaimed.

"Okay, fine. He tried to get his hand down my pants. I told him no and shoved him off. He turned around and hit me. I don't remember anything else." Olivia said, finding herself on the verge of tears.

Elliot stared and said, "He raped you?"

"No. The rape kit didn't turn up anything. I think the neighbors heard the ruckus and called the cops before he had a chance to do anything." Olivia replied softly.

Elliot stood in silence for a moment and then said, "Sorry. I didn't know." Olivia nodded and sank down onto the couch, all of her energy now gone. Elliot walked around to sit beside her, feeling more than a little bit guilty. He put an arm around her shoulders and pressed his forehead up against hers. She sighed and leaned up against him, feeling his hand slide down to rest on her stomach.

Early the next morning Elliot left Olivia's and headed out to the outskirts of the city. He thought that there might be one person who knew what really happened. As he turned his car onto the dirt road he looked up at the large stable in front of him, the NYPD shield guarding its gate. Elliot got out of his car and walked up to the edge of the field where two horses were standing tethered, their NYPD gear gleaming in the early morning sun. He walked beyond them and saw a man trotting back in from the outer edge of the field on a large gray. Elliot leaned up against the fence and watched as the man rode the horse through a variety of police maneuvers. After a few minutes the man rode back into the fence, smiling down at Elliot. "Hello, what brings you here?" he asked, sliding down off the horses back and handing it to a stable boy who had run over.

Elliot flashed his badge at him and said, "I am Olivia Benson's partner. She tells me you were her mentor?"

The man smiled and held out his hand. Elliot shook it as the man responded, "That's right. I am Weston Andrews, Captain of the NYPD Mounted Unit. Olivia's a good girl, isn't she?"

Elliot smiled and nodded before saying, "Someone brought this thing up the other day and I was wondering if you would know more- Olivia was really upset when I tried to ask her and I didn't want to push it."

Weston looked at him curiously and asked, "What was it?"

"Officer Davis at the academy." Elliot said simply.

Weston's face immediately clouded angrily and said, "Yes, I know about him. Bastard. Well- can you ride?" Elliot looked at him in surprise but nodded. Weston smiled in approval and indicated to the small black horse closest to them. "He's a good horse."

Weston got on the larger brown horse and rode up alongside Elliot, the horse's hooves clipping gently against the moist grass. "How did you find out about him? That was a confidential file." Weston questioned, glancing over at Elliot.

"My temporary partner went to the academy with Olivia and brought it up." Elliot answered.

"I see. Why do you have a temporary partner? Is Olivia okay?" Weston asked in great concern.

"She's fine. She's five months pregnant." Elliot replied, looking down at his horses neck and patting it gently.

"Really? Well tell her she had better call me! I didn't even know she had a boyfriend." Weston said, sounding slightly confused.

Elliot didn't answer and only played with his horse's mane to focus on keeping the flush from his cheeks. But when he looked up, it was clear that Weston already knew.

"Okay, well Officer Davis... I don't know a lot of the details beforehand, but I guess the gist of it was he had been hitting on her constantly, and was more than a little upset when she didn't want to have anything to do with him. I was on call that night, and by some lucky coincidence happened to be riding only a few minutes from the academy when I got the call. I rode over to the academy and was immediately greeted by Officer Davis outside his door. I told him that I was there because neighbors had heard a fight. He said that it was a misunderstanding and that they must have heard the TV. I wasn't convinced but didn't have much of a choice- he was a cop after all. But when I tried to turn away, my horse went nuts. That settled it and I told him to let me inside." Weston said.

Elliot looked over at him and asked, "What happened?"

"I found her in there, unconscious. Davis had beaten the shit out of her. We got her to the hospital where they found she had a broken wrist in three places, two fractured ribs and a severe concussion. She was bruised up around her face and her skirt was ripped, so I had them do a rape kit, but thank God nothing came up." Weston finished, pulling his horse to a stop.

Elliot rode up beside him, completely appalled. "What happened to Davis?"

"He got his badge ripped, but no formal charges were filed- it wouldn't have looked good." Weston answered bitterly.

Elliot rode the rest of the time in silence, unable to comprehend why anyone would ever do that to her. When they finished up their ride Weston put a hand on his shoulder. "Take good care of her, okay?"

"I will." Elliot replied, "I love her." He surprised himself with his forthrightness and shut his mouth quickly.

"Come here, I want to show you something." Weston told him, and Elliot followed him up to the stables. They walked in and headed straight for the office. Weston swung open the door and indicated to the wall in front of them. Elliot walked forward and saw a picture of Olivia jumping a great white horse. She was in her full police uniform and the horse was decked out in NYPD gear as they leapt over a jump that was designed to look like a three foot crowd barrier. But it was her smile that caught Elliot's attention the most. In the photo next to it was a picture of her and the horse standing, and again, her smile was quite broad. "She graduated from the academy a few months after the episode with Davis, so I had her come ride with us. She rode in college, and so had some good experience. We gave her that horse, a seasoned veteran. Because of what happened to her, I figured that it would be therapeutic for her to ride as opposed to go straight to the streets. Well, she and Major, that was his name, made quite the team. They collared more suspects than you would even believe. Perps never get any smarter- always think they can outrun a horse."

"I didn't know she was with the mounted unit." Elliot said, finally turning away from the pictures.

"For about a year. Then one night we were out on duty and went about our usual business of chasing down a perp running on foot. Well this one pulled a gun on us and before we had time to do anything he fired. Bullet would have killed her, but Major reared up and took it himself. After that she transferred out, but she comes out usually once a week to ride." Weston said sadly, running a hand down the edge of the picture.

"Why didn't she tell me any of this? I feel horrible now." Elliot muttered, furious with himself for getting so angry with her the night before.

"It's alright. You couldn't have known. But I wouldn't worry too much, when she came out here a couple months ago all she could talk about was her partner." Weston said, with a smile at Elliot. Then he seemed to remember something. "Oh! I almost forgot- the real kicker for Davis was the night after he beat Olivia he was caught having sex with another girl from the class."

Elliot abruptly froze. "What was her name?"

"Sandra."

Elliot gritted his teeth and shook his head. Weston looked at him curiously, but didn't ask. "Hey, could I get a copy of these?" Elliot questioned, waving to the pictures.

"Sure." Weston responded.

Elliot raced to work after leaving the stables and found Olivia researching while Sandra commented on her lack of boyfriends. "Sandra! Leave her the hell alone!" Elliot yelled, grabbing the back of her jacket and hauling her up out of the chair. Olivia looked over at Elliot, quite stunned.

But Elliot didn't release her and marched right into Cragen's office. "Captain, I can't have her as a partner anymore." He said, finally letting go of her jacket. Sandra scowled up at him.

Cragen looked at him and said, "What happened?"

"She just doesn't work very hard and spends the majority of her time harassing Olivia." Elliot said, glaring at Sandra.

Sandra swelled angrily at his statement and shrieked, "The little bitch deserves it! She knew I liked Davis so she thought she would go screw him to rub it in my face!"

"She didn't 'screw' him! He beat her up when she wouldn't!" Elliot yelled, turning around on Sandra.

Cragen sat in dumbfounded silence, having absolutely no clue what they were talking about. By this time the ruckus had been heard throughout the precinct and Fin and Munch both turned to look at Olivia. A few moments later, Elliot walked back out, looking quite victorious. Sandra came out a little while later, officially out of a job.

Elliot would often wonder, however, what would have been different if he let her stay just one more day.

End Flashback…

Elliot awoke to find that he had been asleep on Olivia's bed. It was nearly midnight and the glow of the moon through the window was quite bright. He yawned and slowly got up, his side protesting loudly. Closing his arm around it to try to dull the pain, Elliot made his way down the hall. When he reached the living room he found Olivia dozing on the couch, Court TV playing softly in the background. He smiled to see her sleeping so peacefully and gently reached out to brush a stray lock of chestnut hair from her face. She opened her eyes and looked up at him with her dark chocolate eyes. "What are you doing up, El? You need your rest."

"I just wanted to check on you. How come you are sleeping out here?" Elliot questioned.

"Well I didn't want you sleeping on the couch!" Olivia exclaimed, sitting up.

"Why don't you come sleep with me tonight?" Elliot said, his blue eyes pleading.

"Are you sure?" Olivia asked, and he nodded firmly. She helped him back down the hall and then crawled in on the opposite side of bed. He rolled over so that he was facing her and took her hands in his, rubbing them gently.

Olivia smiled at him and scooted closer. He kissed her gently, releasing her hands so that he could run his fingers through her hair. She felt him move so that he was on top of her, sliding his hands gently up and down her sides. Slowly she raised her hand to his chest and softly pushed him away. "None of that until your well again." She told him with a slight smile.

Elliot looked slightly disappointed but settled to wrap his arms around her and fall asleep with her curled against him. It took him a while to fall asleep, though it wasn't due to pain or restlessness. He was deep in thought, remembering the past and thinking about the future. His eyes fell upon the pictures framed on her wall. They were side by side, one of her jumping a white police horse and the other of her smiling with her head pressed up against it's neck, while it looked back at her with pricked up ears. He smiled at them and stroked Olivia's back. There were those times in life that everything just seemed to fall apart, and then there were the times like these. For once the sand in the hourglass of life seemed to fall slowly, as though attempting to redeem itself for moments it had stolen.

A/N #2: Please read and review, and I promise next chapter is going to wrap up some of the loose ends in one!


	7. Loss

A/N: Well here you go, and I would say that this fic has one or two more chapters left at this point.

Bite Beccy- I believe that this chapter will answer your question…

And to everyone else who has reviewed, NicksterPotter, jmewebber, Emmy9, SVUlover, BlueButterflyCSI, justawritier, Tany, Mandabug100, YellyBelly, miniminion1, Serendipity73, Seth Cohen's girlfriend, Forensic Puppy, mo-scully, hothing40, Lola-AlanMonicaQFan, TLWROX, colonelheather, woemcat, and everyone else I have forgotten to list, thanks!

_**Cause you can't jump the track **_

_**We're like cars on a cable **_

_**And life's like an hourglass glued to the table, **_

_**No one can find the rewind button boy…**_

_**There's a light at the end of this tunnel you shout cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out **_

_**And these mistakes you've made **_

_**You'll just make them again if you only try turning around**_

**_But you can't jump the track _**

_**We're like cars on a cable **_

**_And life's like an hourglass glued to the table, _**

_**No one can find the rewind button girl …**_

Flashback…

Elliot slammed the phone down in frustration. Olivia glanced up from her paperwork, looking curiously at her partner. She leaned back in her chair, laying her hands over her stomach. Olivia was in quite a good mood- for the first time in a long while she had absolutely no morning sickness and felt one hundred percent again. "What's up?" she asked Elliot, watching as he irritably glanced through some papers.

"I want to go talk to the boyfriend of our vic today, but I can't pull anyone to go with." Elliot said, then he sighed, "Oh well, I can go tomorrow."

"I can go with you. It's not a big deal. The doctor said I could do some field work every once in a while." Olivia told him.

"Are you sure? I really can go tomorrow and pull Munch or Fin." Elliot questioned, eying her with concern.

Olivia grinned and stood. "I will be fine."

They made their way out into the early spring air, all its promises of renewed life quite apparent. Elliot drove and they found their way to the beaten down old house that Mr. Skinner lived. Olivia got out of the car first, noticing someone standing at a window. As she squinted to get a closer look the curtain dropped again. "Looks like someone was waiting for us to arrive." She whispered to Elliot as he walked up beside her. Elliot bit his lip lightly as he ascended the stairs. They stood for several minutes in front of the door until Elliot's incessant pounding on it finally forced Mr. Skinner to answer. He looked at them with mild interest, glancing over at Olivia most frequently. She was fairly certain he couldn't tell she was pregnant, as her button up coat was thick and helped hid her belly considerably. Still, her instincts told her to tread carefully.

"Mr. Skinner, we would like to speak with you." Elliot said simply, and the man nodded easily.

"Of course. Come in." he told them, his suspicious demeanor instantly dissolving. Elliot walked in first, while Olivia took up the rear, keeping a sharp eye on Skinner. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to stop, and she felt herself slowing. Up ahead Elliot was just finding his way around the corner, when Skinner wheeled around and lunged at her. Olivia just barely jumped out of the way, finding herself very close to the edge of an old wooden set of stairs leading down to the basement. Her breath came rapidly as she struggled to regain her balance. She kept her eye on Skinner the whole time as he rolled up off the floor. When he raised his eyes to meet hers, he grinned.

Olivia turned, but not fast enough. A burly man came out of nowhere and with a hard shove knocked her down the steps. She fell down the entire flight of stairs, finally coming to a stop when her back slammed up against the door at the bottom of them. Pain seared all through her body and she started to try to sit up. Loud footsteps on the stairs made her desperately attempt to stand quickly, but her knee had twisted around at a funny angle and she could hardly bear weight on it. She seized her gun but before she could even flip the safety off, the man had tackled her, pinning her wrists. "You are quite a lot prettier than the bitch Skinner had. I am sure he will be quite jealous of me after we finish." he panted into her ear. Olivia cringed and wriggled around, managing to wedge on of her feet against the wall. The man pressed his weight down on her to keep her still, but he wasn't quick enough. She used all the force she could to flip them over and wrenched her wrist free of his grasp, seizing her gun and whacking him hard against the shoulder. He recoiled in pain and she got up off of him. She quickly jerked his hands behind him and cuffed him.

By this time Elliot had heard the commotion and came running back into the hall. He was greeted by Skinner who immediately tackled him. They hit the floor with astonishing force. Fighting ferociously Elliot managed to pull Skinner into a neck lock, and then looked up to find another man staggering up the steps, looking quite ready to take Olivia out. Her lip was bleeding and she looked quite battered, but as the man attempted to run into her she expertly dodged and seized the side of his shirt. With a hard jerk she slammed him up against the wall and then used the resulting momentum to toss him down the stairs, just as he had down to her. Olivia didn't wait to see when he hit the bottom, and instead limped over to Elliot, who was putting Skinner into handcuffs. Skinner wasn't moving much anymore. Olivia reached over and helped Elliot to his feet. "You okay?" she panted.

"Fine." Elliot answered, and felt her hands suddenly grow slack on his arms. "Liv?"

She swallowed as she fell against his chest, her entire body shaking. "Elliot, I need to get to a doctor." She gasped out before darkness completely took her.

Elliot put his face in his hands in the waiting room of the ER. Never before had time seemed to drag so slowly. Olivia had been rushed into emergency surgery to see if they could somehow save the baby, but the doctor had warned him that it might not make it. There had been no word so far, and nurses walked by looking both sympathetic and accusing. It had of course come out that he was married with kids and that Olivia was his pregnant girlfriend. Elliot slowly dropped his hands to rest on his knees.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up. He recognized her only from a photograph on Olivia's nightstand. Serena Benson sat down beside him, smiling sadly. "I didn't even know my daughter was pregnant until a month ago. She didn't want to tell me because she didn't want to get the father in trouble..."

"Because I was married." Elliot finished for her, eying his gold ring guiltily.

Serena nodded and said, "Right, and because she told me that she loved him more than anything else in the world."

Elliot looked at her in surprise and asked, "She really said that?"

"She did." Serena answered, leaning forward in her chair and looking him in the eye. "Are you so surprised?"

Elliot shook his head slowly and replied, "I guess I just don't know why. I have made a lot of mistakes."

"Don't we all?" Olivia's mother asked him gently, squeezing his shoulder sympathetically.

After a while, a doctor finally came out. She walked right over to Elliot and said, "You are the father, correct?" Elliot looked up at her and nodded. "Well Ms. Benson is out of surgery, she ought to be fine."

"And the baby?" Serena questioned, rubbing her hands together nervously.

The doctor sighed and said, "I'm sorry, he didn't make it."

Elliot shut his eyes and mumbled, "This is all my fault."

She looked down sympathetically and told him, "Actually, it's not."

"What do you mean?" questioned Elliot.

"The accident made her go into premature labor, but the baby had already died. I think he died a week or so ago, the umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck." The doctor told him, patting his shoulder gently. "But at least she can still have kids. No permanent damage was done. Now if one of you wants to come in, the nurses are waking her up right now."

"I'll go." Serena said quickly, then she looked back at Elliot, "I'll not take too long."

Elliot nodded, watching the two walk off. He wiped a tear from his eye as he looked back down at the ground.

Olivia reluctantly opened her eyes. The nurses kept smacking her shoulders and rolling her gently from side to side, telling her she had to wake up. Her vision was hazy as she looked up at her and she immediately wanted to go back to sleep. "Come on sweetheart, you have to wake up." said one of the nurses, a kind looking black woman.

"Olivia, wake up! Your mother wants to see you." said the other nurse, a skinny blonde. Olivia thought she recognized her from somewhere. She opened her eyes a little wider as they rolled her back and forth a couple more times. And then it hit her.

"Kathy." Olivia muttered, only just finding her voice.

Kathy smiled down at her and said, "Welcome back, Olivia. You were out for quite a while."

"I'm sorry." Olivia told her, fighting very hard to stay awake.

The black nurse glanced at Kathy curiously. "It's alright Olivia. You just get to feeling better." Kathy said, ignoring the other nurses looks. "Your mom's here."

With that Kathy turned and left the room, her colleague running behind her, obviously dying to know what was going on. Serena walked into the room, looking down at her daughter. Olivia smiled slightly at her mother. "Hey mom." Then her face clouded, "My baby died didn't it?"

Serena took her hand and squeezed it. "Yes, Liv, he did. I'm sorry. But they said it wasn't from what happened today. The umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck and he died sometime last week."

Olivia shut her eyes and felt hot tears slip down her cheeks. "It was a boy?"

Her mother nodded and then gently kissed her forehead. "You are going to make it through this. Both of you."

"You talked to Elliot? Is he okay?" Olivia questioned her, laying her other hand over her flat stomach.

"He's fine. I will bring him in. I'll be back in the morning, sweetie." Serena said, and gave her daughter a somewhat lopsided hug over the bed's railing.

Kathy walked out of Olivia's room and headed out to the waiting area. There she found Elliot hunched over in his chair looking down at his knees, silently crying. "Elliot?"

He looked up, his eyes wide. Kathy sighed and sat down beside him. "How long have you been seeing Olivia?"

"Almost seven months." Elliot said softly, unable to look his wife in the eyes. "I am so sorry Kathy. It was like I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn't stop. I don't expect you to forgive me."

"It's hard, Elliot, I am not going to lie to you. I suspected something for a long time. And the reality that my husband cheated on me for a younger woman is more than a little difficult to bear. However, I do understand why you did what you did." Kathy replied.

Elliot looked up at her. "How can you understand? I don't even understand what happened."

"You know that whole soul mate thing? You never really believed in it, I know, but you've got one. She sees all that you do every day and is the only one who truly understands every part of who you are. Olivia is everything that I am not." Kathy said, and Elliot wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a hint of bitterness in her voice. With that she stood and went over to the nurse's station, pulling out some paperwork and walking back over to him. "I started to work on these two months ago."

Elliot took them from her. "Divorce papers?"

"All those times we had Olivia over for dinner, I could tell. The way you looked at her. You left me a long time ago Elliot. In fact, I remember the night… it was a Friday. You got back from the bar; you had just met an old friend of your partner's." Kathy said.

Elliot stared at her, unable to quite comprehend the situation. "I… can you give me a couple days?"

"Of course. You can mail the papers to my lawyer after you sign."

Elliot watched her get up and walk back down the hallway, passing Olivia's mother. Serena smiled at Elliot and called, "She wants to see you."

Olivia slowly sat up, her abdomen incredibly sore. She wrapped her arms around it and felt the thick bandage underneath. "Olivia?"

She turned and saw Elliot standing hesitantly in the doorway. "El!"

He walked over to her and asked, "How are you?"

"I have been better." answered Olivia as he walked over to sit on the edge of her bed. He laid a hand on her thigh and looked up at her with sad blue eyes.

"I guess it's just been one of those days." Elliot said, and he felt her press her head up against his shoulder. He turned and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

The nurse stood outside the door, glancing in through the window. A smile danced across her lips as she said softly, "Well there's something you don't see everyday. Guy actually sticks around when his girlfriend gets pregnant. She's quite lucky." She glanced over at her colleague.

"They're both lucky." Kathy said, leaning up against the wall.

A/N #2: Yes, that is how they wake you up from anesthesia in case you were wondering… it sucks! Lol.

Well you know the drill, read and review, I live for it!


	8. The Sand in the Hourglass

A/N: Well, this is the final chapter, sorry it's sort of short. I want to thank everyone for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! It was a rather unconventional approach as far as chronology, but it made it quite challenging and enjoyable to write! Please review! I have replied to a few individual reviews below…

Seth Cohen's girlfriend: I thought I would handle Kathy a little bit differently in this story, not make her so much of a bitch… a little change of pace for me! I must say I originally thought she was going to blow a gasket, but for some reason it turned out the way it did! Glad you liked it though!

Tany: I am so happy you liked it! Also thanks for being so supportive of my writing, you have reviewed virtually every chapter of all my stories!

Lu78 LadyV77: Yes, being woken up from anesthesia is very unpleasant! Not a fun experience…

Jmewebber: I hope you like the ending! It was an interesting task to pull everything all together!

Justawritier: You may just get your wish…

Littlesweetcupcake: I know, I know… I hate Kathy, I really do… but for variety's sake I made her remotely nice in this story…

Flashback Continued…

Olivia was able to leave the hospital the following morning, something she was quite happy about. Her knee had fortunately only been sprained, though she needed to wear a brace on it to walk for a couple weeks. When she arrived back at her apartment she immediately flopped back on her bed, rubbing her knee gently as she slipped the brace off. Elliot walked into the bedroom after locking the front door and removing his jacket. He sat down next to her, placing a gentle hand on stomach. Olivia glanced up at him, light flickering in her dark brown eyes. Slowly she drew her knee up and wrapped one leg on either side of his waist.

Elliot stroked her sides gently, pressing his forehead to her shoulder. "I am getting a divorce." He said after a while, fixing his gaze on her.

"I am sorry Elliot. For everything." Olivia replied, cupping his chin in her hand.

"You don't have to apologize for anything, Liv. We both made choices. And I don't regret any of it." Elliot answered, pressing his lips to her collarbone.

Olivia smiled and brought his face back up, kissing him passionately on the lips. When she finally pulled away, she reached down and unclipped his belt. He looked at her in concern. "Olivia… we shouldn't until you are well."

"I feel fine Elliot. Please… just this once." She said, and Elliot felt his heart jump at her words. The very same he had said on their first night together. His eyes fell on the bandage around her stomach. He very hesitantly pushed her down onto her back, slowly easing himself on top of her. She did her very best not to wince, but Elliot could tell that it already hurt her. He quickly backed off and stood, taking her hands to help her up.

"This is different, Liv. I don't want to hurt you. Come on, let's go watch a movie or something." He said with a grin, kissing her gently on the cheek. Olivia smiled back and nodded.

"Sounds good. I just need to change really quick." She replied, grabbing some clothes out her drawers.

"Hey, I think you look cute in hospital scrubs." Elliot said with a shrug, and Olivia rolled her eyes. He walked out to let her get dressed and lay down on her couch, leaning his head back and shutting his eyes. After a while he heard Olivia come walking back out, and felt her kiss his forehead gently. She wriggled right up against his chest and he slipped his leg over hers. Elliot looked at his beautiful partner and smiled. He wrapped his arms protectively around her and then shut his eyes again.

End Flashback…

Elliot opened his eyes, the memory of Olivia's accident still fresh in his mind. It had been a little over a year, but it was still as painful as ever. He shifted slightly on the couch and glanced up at Olivia, who was laying half over him with her head on his shoulder, sound asleep. As he ran a hand through her silky brown hair a smile came to his lips thinking of the role reversal that had taken place since his memory. Now Olivia was taking care of him, not the other way around.

Kathy had stopped by once, far to busy with her fiancé to visit often- not that he expected her to. But his kids had come by every week, usually staying Friday to Saturday. Elliot had thanked Kathy for that at least, as the custody agreement had only given him the kids every other weekend and Friday nights. And to his great surprise, the kids seemed to like Olivia, Lizzie especially. It meant a lot to him, and he could tell it meant even more to Olivia.

He put his hand over hers, squeezing it gently. She immediately opened her eyes and looked at him in deep concern. "Are you okay, El?"

"Fine." He replied, smiling at her. She smiled back, and Elliot felt a surge of joy. He doubted anyone had a prettier smile than she did- and he was pretty sure it was the first thing that he had loved about her. She kissed his cheek gently while playing her fingers across his hand. It seemed so strange without his wedding band. Even during their several months long affair he had always worn it, perhaps as a reminder that what they were doing was wrong or maybe just because of habit.

Olivia eased up the edge of his shirt, running her hand over the just healed wound on his side. When she started to pull away Elliot caught her hand and pressed it over the scar. She smiled at him and leaned up against his chest. Suddenly he flipped them over so that he was on top. Olivia looked up at him in surprise. He grinned at her and pressed his lips to hers. She draped her arms around his neck, kissing him back vehemently. Elliot slowly pulled her up into a sitting position. "I love you, Liv."

"I love you too, El." She answered, allowing him to take her hands. He smiled broadly back at her, and slipped a diamond ring over her finger.

"Will you marry me then?" Elliot questioned, looking at her with pleading blue eyes.

Olivia stared down at the brilliant white gold ring with diamonds and sapphires decorating it. She threw her arms around his neck and exclaimed, "Yes!" Elliot wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him, running his hands up and down her back. There were those times in life when it seemed you had lost everything, and then there were the times that gave it all back again- and Elliot was certain that he had encountered both in the past two days. He was also quite sure however, that this was one of those times that gave it all back plus more.

The next day was Elliot's first day back at work in three months- though he was to be on desk duty of course. Olivia walked next to him into the precinct, her step considerably lighter than it had been in weeks. Elliot strode confidently beside her, immensely happy to be back. Upon their entrance into the SVU Elliot was greeted by quite a lot of applause. Olivia smiled at him as various officers and detectives came up to chat with the now quite famous Detective Stabler. "It's good to see our favorite couple back to work." said Munch, smirking at the two. He was quite surprised, however, when neither one of them disputed that fact.

"It's good to be back." Elliot replied with an even broader grin.

"I trust you haven't been bothering Olivia to badly the past few months?" Fin questioned, ambling over to them.

Olivia glanced at Elliot and he looked back at her. "Not too badly." Olivia said, slapping Elliot gently on the back.

Fin and Munch both became very wide eyed when they saw her hand. "Are you getting married, Olivia?" Fin questioned.

"Yes, we are." She responded, putting on a beautiful smile for Elliot. Munch and Fin both stared at the two, quite speechless.

"Well, well. Benson, I am surprised you like this guy so much." Olivia and Elliot turned to see Jason White, Elliot's former partner, standing by the doorway. He looked more than a little pleased with himself.

"Me too. I guess there is just something slightly appealing about him." Olivia said with a grin, and Jason laughed.

"Don't forget who introduced you two…" Jason answered, his face bright.

"We owe you." Elliot admitted as he reached out to shake his hand.

"Everything happens for a reason, kids. Take good care of yourselves." Jason told them, hugging Olivia before walking out. He glanced back briefly and said, "And the sand in the hourglass keeps on falling."

Olivia and Elliot looked at him curiously, but he just waved and then disappeared into the elevator. He never did get a chance to further explain what he meant, as he died a couple months later, but he didn't need to. After their horrific ordeal in the warehouse and the resulting memories that it forced them to revisit, Elliot and Olivia finally understood that even if they could turn back the clock they wouldn't want to. Their past was a mixture of pain and pleasure, each intertwined and each defining them as the people they were today. And that was why life was an hourglass glued to the table…

**The End**

A/N#2: Please please please please please review the story as a whole! Thanks so much for reading everyone, and I will see you around! I have another story in the works…


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